To Rush Limbaugh, a legal student who supports a federal mandate for contraception coverage is a "slut" who is "having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex." Ethan Miller/Getty Images

March 2, 2012

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The backlash against ultra-conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for his "misogynistic tirades" against a Georgetown University law student has been swift and fierce. At the center of the controversy are comments Limbaugh made about Sandra Fluke, who testified at a congressional hearing earlier this week in support of mandatory health insurance for contraception. Limbaugh branded Fluke a "slut" whose argument "makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex." House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called the comments "inappropriate," while National Republican Senatorial Committee Vice Chair Carly Fiorina said Limbaugh's language was "incendiary." Mattress retailer Sleep Train has already pulled its advertising from Limbaugh's show, while campaigns are being launched imploring ProFlowers, eHarmony, and other major advertisers to follow suit. Has the famously incendiary host finally gone too far?

Yes. This could end his show: "Targeting advertisers to bolt conservative programming" has been successful in the past, says Noah Rothman at Ology. After Don Imus disparaged Rutgers women basketball players as "nappy-headed hos" in 2007, an advertiser boycott contributed to his firing. When Glenn Beck accused President Obama of having a "deep-seated hatred for white people," advertisers fled, and now the conservative talking head "is relegated to some nameless corner of the internet." It will be trickier to achieve the same results with Limbaugh, but with one advertiser already dropping out, it just might work."And they came for Rush Limbaugh"

Forget Rush. What about the GOP? Limbaugh's comments could do more than hurt his radio show, says Steve Benen at MSNBC. They could also undermine the GOP in an election year. An "aggressive culture-war agenda" is dominating politics, and by opposing birth control and abortion, "Republicans have made themselves vulnerable to criticism as an anti-woman party." You can bet GOP leaders would like Rush to quiet down. "Unfortunately for the party, the power seems to run in the other direction — Limbaugh gives orders to Republicans, not the other way around.""Hitting Limbaugh where it hurts"